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IndyCar: preparations afoot for 2008 season

By LJ Hutchins

IndyCar Series teams are set to begin preparations for the 2008 season with open tests at the Homestead-Miami Speedway and Sebring International Raceway in Florida.

The series has announced its first spring training dates on February 27-28 at Miami on the 1.5-mile, high-banked oval there.

The teams will test under lights each day for the second consecutive year in preparation for the season opener at the facility on March 29 when Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Dan Wheldon will be seeking his fourth consecutive circuit victory.

The following week they will travel to the Sebring International Raceway to conduct their first open tests there.

Half the field will test on March 3-4, and the other half will test on March 5-6 on a 1.7-mile, 11-turn track.The teams will test on a modified course instead of the full 3.7-mile circuit.

Although the facility has been approved for team testing since 2005, this will mark the first open test at the venue.

Brian Barnhart, Indy Racing League operations and competition president, said: “Both offer first-class facilities in warm-weather venues to allow our teams and drivers the opportunity to get ready for another season of outstanding racing.

“Our race cars look spectacular under the lights at Homestead-Miami Speedway. I can’t think of a better place to feel the energy of IndyCar Series racing in anticipation of a new season.

“We’re also thrilled to be going to Sebring for the first time. Indy cars have used that facility as a training ground for years, and it should be a great track for our competitors to get ready for the road and street courses on our schedule.”